All The Places We Would Go

My family & I did a lot of traveling when I was younger, as you can tell by the photo to the left, of my brothers & I sleeping(I'm to the left, off screen).

We spent a lot of time in the car driving up and down the east coast of these great United States of America!

We've been to probably every beach on the east coast, from Maine to Florida. I was born and raised, for the most part, in New York, but we also ending up living in Florida for about six or seven months as well. But, before that, we would travel to a lot of different beaches - primarily Virginia Beach.

It was a regular family outing, going to Virginia Beach - we went at least twice a year.

*All of the pictures on this page are my own, they're from my family's old stash of photos. They're definitely old, retro and nostalgic! The pictures I'm using are all dated from within the range of 1979 - 1988.

I just thought I'd put this page together to share my experiences of traveling, by car, to all the beaches.

As well as, some tips & personal views for everything all around. I hope you enjoy it!

Every year, we would make that, at least twice, yearly trip to Virginia Beach and rent a room at the same, really nice, motel or hotel.(I can't remember what it was called....What's the difference between a hotel & a motel again? I'll just call it the place we stayed lol) So, anyway, the place we stayed was great because it had everything. It had a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, enough bedrooms for the five of us - my mom, dad, two brothers & I.

The coolest thing, about this place we stayed, was that it was right on the beach! All you had to do was go out the back sliding door, that was right off the kitchen, walk down the stairs and there you are, you're on the beach! You can see the way I described it in that picture up above. That's my older brother Peter, eating some breakfast while the waves crash behind him. It doesn't get any better than that!

Sometimes when we'd come back, to the same place we stayed, we'd end up getting a room that was on the bottom floor, so that when we went out the back door, of our room, we didn't have to go down any stairs, we were already on the beach!

There were some other places though, that we went for beach vacations and the places we happened to stay weren't right on the beach. Sometimes they were a car ride away, other times they were within walking distance - it varied. Especially, when we went to the beaches in Florida, the closest you could get to a rented room, on the beachfront, was in a skyscraper hotel - at least for the area we went to - near panama beach. Also, when we lived in Tallahassee, Florida we had to drive a little bit, to get to one too.

Another thing to point out about our trips to Virginia Beach was that when we went there, we went during the off seasons, which meant the prices were a lot cheaper. The photos I found say April and September for the dates. My brothers and I weren't in school yet which is why we were able to go during those times. As we got older we went less and less because of school, maybe just once a year, sometimes toward the end. So if you want to save some money or get some really great deals on lodging and etc. then you might want to try to go in early Spring or late Summer, especially if your kids are young and don't have school.

As you can tell by these pictures, in September, the beaches are still pretty full. As long as it's warm out, people will be at the beach. Even when it's cold you'll still see people on the beach too - going for a walk by themselves, or with dogs. We went for early morning walks when it was cold too, even when there was wind and rain, it's beautiful!

*As for the picture quality of these photos, of Virginia Beach, you can see better quality ones on Google Images (Here)

Just type in Virginia Beach and check them out. Those are pictures obviously taken by other people because the ones on this webpage, that you're currently on, are older ones my family took ages ago. It's so cool to see that the beach is still pretty much the same! What a cool comparison of the old & new pictures.

My fondest memories of traveling, were that of being in the car - seeing & feeling all the sites. From the different cities, their architecture, street signs(even the different traffic lights designs), the feeling of driving up to and through the toll booths, looking at all the cars passing by and their different license plates. Basically, all the views that every passing location had to offer - even the roads themselves. It seemed like every road had a different feeling, giving off a different vibration and vehicle hum(which btw, I think is what makes us kids fall asleep easier in a car. When you're a kid, it's so enjoyable!).

By far, one of the coolest roads we traveled was that of the aquaduct, under water tunnels, like the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Man, those were so cool! Roads in the form of tunnels, that went under water. You could feel the air pressure change when going down through it. It was both scary and cool, at the same time! What a feeling of awe and amazement! What great heights man has achieved in construction I tell ya!

My Mom did not like the tunnels! Not one bit! It was crazy too, because they leak. Every, some number of feet(can't remember the distance), there were these vents in the ceiling that dripped down water, so you had to drive with your windshield wipers on! The other crazy element about these tunnels was when a passing motorist would honk their horn, because of the sounds it made echoing through. I think it's Frighteningly cool!

We went under the water, as well as over the water. We traveled by ferry a number of times, when we would cross over to Virginia. We would take a ferry from Cape May to the tip of Virginia, so that way we didn't have to go around the long way with busy traffic, through Washington D.C.

Ferry's are quite the experience to a kid. You drive your car onto it, like a road and then you're on a boat! I know you know what a ferry is. I just wanted to explain it from a kid's perspective. It's probably the same level of excitement as driving through the underwater tunnels. Although, once you drive onto the ferry, the ferry then drives you and you're surrounded by water! It's just so cool to drive onto something and then when you get to your destination, you drive off. Hitching a ride on a turtle! :)

Here's a video I found on Youtube of some girl(s) worried about driving through the tunnel lol

*It looks like they fixed that leaking water problem, unless of course I'm thinking of another underwater tunnel that we went through, back then. I just read online about this tunnel and it looks like they did do some work on it since we've been through it, so maybe it was this one that leaked.

"Where's Virginia Beach?" you ask! Here it is.......

Are you going to be vacationing in Virgina Beach? In case you didn't know, that's the name of the city, as well as the name of the beach - Virginia Beach. There area lot of fun things to do there. I thought I'd share some great links of sites to check out for more info about what you can do, where you can go, what you might want see and all the different fun you can have at Virginia Beach......here are 3 links to some fantastic websites......

#1. VisitVirginiaBeach.com's Official Site With Info On "Things To Do"

#2. A List of 45 Attractions To Check Out

#3. 50 Things To Do In Virginia Beach & The Surrounding Area

Road trips can be long and boring so the best idea is to play games! Here are some great ideas for games and all around fun, that you might know and already do/play:

Eye Spy - One person spots something and says "I Spy something that is(hint about object goes here)" The hint can be a color, a size, a letter, a number - anything that won't give away the answer too easily. The only real problem is that when you're driving, the thing you're choosing as your object, is gone kind of quick, because it ends up going by.

Playing Hangman - Someone picks a name of a movie, tv show, or about any subject they want and then writes little dashes where all the words and letters would go, on a piece of paper, and then the other person has to guess letters and each time they pick a wrong letter, you draw a body part on the end of a pre-drawn(or not pre-drawn until they get their choices wrong, it's up to you) wooden hanging board thingy, called the gallows - used for capital punishment when hanging someone convicted of a crime. You can pick or choose what rate you want to draw body parts for the wrong letters chosen. You can either go one body part at a time or pair the arms and legs up as one wrong answer to make it more difficult for the guesser. Make sure you jot down the letters someone has chosen(on the side of the paper), to be fair, so they don't double guess. *Hint to the person doing the guessing: Guess the vowels first! but be careful! hehe

Tic Tac Toe - Everyone knows this game! You draw two parallel lines going left to right and two more parallel lines going up and down, through those other lines and now you have 9 empty squares. Now one person, is going to draw "X's" every time it's their turn and the other person is going to draw "O's" when it's theirs. Someone starts by writing an "X" or an "O" in one of those squares and then the next person writes down their "X" or "O". All you need is 3 "X's" or 3 "O's" in a row and you win! 3 in a row, up and down, left to right or diagonal. It's a simple & fun game.

Tell Jokes & Sing Songs! - Tell some jokes if you have any! Or, bring along a book of jokes to read and tell. Also, sing some songs to have fun, or to annoy someone lol hahaha You know, ones like: "BINGO" or "Old Mcdonald Had A Farm" "The Wheels On The Bus" or "99 Bottles of Beer On The Wall" or you could sing Clark Griswald's(the character played by Chevy Chase in "National Lampoon's Vacation") song he sang, "Old Man River" lol Plainly put, there are a lot of songs you could sing!

"Mad Libs" Books - These books were a huge favorite of mine, and my brother's as well! They are these books full of pages that have paragraphs of themed writing, full of about 10-20 empty word spots where you put in whatever words you want, following each one's need. If it says adjective, you put in an adjective, if it's a noun, you put in a noun. One person asks the other person to give them their words they choose, without showing them the page, and without them knowing the context, until their done writing down what the other person said, for their choices, for the missing words. Then the person who wrote it down, reads it aloud, lol It's hilarious! It's best to use a pencil so that you can erase the answers and use them another day, with someone else.

Portable Electronics - You could bring a portable dvd player and watch a movie, or bring an mp3 player and listen to music, or bring a portable video game system like a Sony PSP.

Relax & Look Out The Window - Make sure to take some time and just look out the window. Look at everything passing by. Think. Dream. Ponder everything you know, what you want to know and even what you think you know(because hey, no one's perfect!). Don't forget to check license plates and see where everyone's from, it's so cool to know anyone could be from anywhere.....oh the possibilities.....

Here are some books, on Amazon, chuck full of games to play on that long road trip....you or your kids won't be bored with these books full of car games to play.....

*I was tired that day! So tired! I was out for awhile too....my brothers got new sunglasses and are even eating fast food.

(I got mine when I got up - the sunglasses and some food), that's two store stops and I was still sleeping. I remember waking up when it was nighttime and everyone was sleeping lol I missed out on all the fun that day!

I think we were on our way to the beach in that picture and had everything we needed. (It may have just been a random traveling picture, I'm not even sure it's beach related - although, I am sleeping on a towel and behind me, in the trunk area, is an inflatable, dragon looking, water floatie tube thing-a-mah-jig. lol I vaguely remember that plastic, blow-up floating thing.) Speaking of packing, it's so easy to end up forgetting to pack something when you're going on vacation, or in this case, beach supplies!

Here are 10 items you don't want to be without:

#1. Sunscreen or Sun tanning Lotion - Probably the most important! Getting sunburned is not fun! I can remember one time I went to a waterpark, near where we lived, and I figured if i just got in the water, that I wouldn't need any sunblock. How wrong was I? The next day, I couldn't even put on, or take off a shirt without my whole back hurting so bad! It took about a week and a half until I was able to really feel relief - it was that bad! So just remember, the sun's rays can reach you through the water.

#2. Sunglasses - Sunscreen for your eyes. You should show your eyes the same respect as your skin. With sun damage to your skin, you get cancer, and you could also get it with your eyes, but you'll also lose eye vision. Then you won't be able to enjoy your family vacations or even the photos of your past vacations, when you get older!

#3. Flip Flops - You'll want to protect your feet from sharp objects, hidden under the sand. Also, another reason to bring shoes of some sort, is because the sand can get really hot from the sun, especially any pavement areas you happen to walk on as well. It's like walking on hot coals when walking across cement. Yowzers! You've heard of cooking an egg on the sidewalk or the road....your feet are now the eggs! lol I'll take my eggs scrambled, please.

#4. Towels - An absolute necessity, for two reasons. One, for drying off after getting out of the water and two, is so you can lay on one, on the sand, to relax. That is, unless of course you bring a lounge chair to lay on, then you need less towels. But if you don't bring any lawn type chairs then you'll need at least 2 towels per person. One for laying, one for drying and I'd even bring extras just in case. Towels can get soaked up quick, especially after each time you go in and out of the water and come back to dry off.

#5. Coolers full of drinks and/or food - This one is self explanatory. It gets hot in the sun so you'll need a drink to refresh. You'll need food if you're there for a while, for lunch or just a snack. Don't forget to follow the 30 minute rule, unless you happen to think it's a load of bologna. Speaking of food, the best meals to make would be sandwiches. Just don't get any sand in your food! Why is it called a sandwich? lol I don't know but sand doesn't taste good. If you've eaten clams you've tasted it before, but it seems to be alright, to a certain degree, in clams. Everything in moderation ha!

#6. Garbage Bags - The beach doesn't bring food, drinks, wrappers and containers to your house and leave them there. Please pick up after yourself and keep the beaches clean, safe & sanitary. I can remember when we went on a trip to Myrtle Beach, in South Carolina, one year and we had to go to a different beach because one part of it had beer bottles and cans and even clothes, like bras, all over it - what a mess! There sure are some pigs in this world! Litter bugs and Devil may care's!

#7. Floating Toys - Surfboards, boogie boards, tubes/rafts, those noodle floaters and don't forget swimmies for the kids who are still not strong swimmers. I absolutely remember those arm floaties! Those were cool, it was like having arm armor. Oh, and back to the tubes and rafts, it can be hard to get on top of those, not like in a pool where you can use the deck or ladder to climb onto it. Also, those floating noodles are good for battles, on land and in the water lol

#8. Umbrella or Shade - Sometimes you need a break from the sun, so you need shade. Especially if you don't want to look like luggage, years down the road, when you're older. Luggage skin is not pretty! So you can either bring a beach umbrella or get one of these cool sun shelters. You don't want you, your family or friends to have heat exhaustion. Again, everything in moderation. Drink. Sun. Drink. Shade. Drink...you get the idea.

#9. Footballs, Frisbees & Beachballs - If you play with these on the beaches, just be respectful and watch where you're playing and be careful throwing those balls around. They had banned footballs and frisbees on the beaches in California but it has since been lifted.

#10. A Book? - Why not bring a book to read. Read while you tan. It's relaxing and it might be the only time you have to read, other than before bed. Leave your electronic devices at home! You can bring your cellphone, in case of an emergency but, turn it off or only have one person hold onto the rest of them, so that way everyone beats their addiction, at least for a little while! Cold Turkey! Say hello to the sun!

*Don't forget your swimming trunks or your bathing suit!

Have Fun At The Beach! Have A Blast! No, Have A Beach Blast!

Oh and if you're single, who knows, maybe you'll end up meeting a John Travolta or Olivia Newton John character from Grease! lol "Aww Gee, Sandy!" hahaha

There are so many fun things to do at the beach! I'm sure everyone knows these!

Burying Someone Up To Their Head! - As shown in that picture up above. That's a picture of my brother and a friend of my mom & dad's. He's the one who got my mom and dad to start taking vacations when he was surprised that they didn't really do vacations. Thanks Mike!

So, yeah, about burying someone in the sand! Let's hope the person who volunteers to be buried, trusts their bury-er lol In this case it looks like my brother was loving the fact that his victim couldn't move haha! Although, in actuality when people get buried they can usually get out of it unless they're really buried deep. So it's fun for a kid to think he's got his subject buried. Then at the end, the buried one usually bursts out of it. It's definitely a fun time!

Building Sandcastles! - Don't forget about everyone's favorite! I'm sure you remember playing with your bucket or pail and your little scooping shovel and trying to make sandcastles. It's so easy, you just put sand in your bucket and then flip it upside down, fast, and then keep doing that, in any pattern you want and then use the shovel tip to carve stuff into it. If you want to get really elaborate, you can read some books on the subject, or watch some cool videos about how to make them, on Youtube(down below). By the way, that's my brother building sandcastles. I couldn't find any pictures of me building any. Thankfully, my brother let me use some pictures of him. Thanks Peter!)

Playing Beach Volleyball - Some beaches have volleyball nets already set up. Excellent! But then comes down to the problem of whether or not people are already using it. You can either ask to join in or wait until they're done, or! just bring your own to set up(preferably, away from everyone else who is laying out and tanning or relaxing, of course) You can also play badminton with the net, as well. So just bring your rackets and birdies along if that's your game.

Throwing Sports - Now this one's a little tricky because of the sports involved. Usually you see some kids, or adults, playing frisbee or tossing around a football. Well, in California, those sports were banned on all their beaches. Some people weren't too happy about it and some people were ecstatic. I understand both sides of the debate. If you're a responsible person then you wouldn't play those games near other people and annoy them. No one wants sand kicked all over them or have to worry about a stray ball or frisbee hitting them and ruining their peace. I'm not sure if they banned beachballs.... I don't think so. I'm sure those are fine to a degree. They ended up cancelling the ban so now they can be played with.

Surfing & Boogie Boarding - "Hang Ten Dude!" "Gnarly!" Yeah, I know, the stereotypical sayings of a surfer lol What about the word "bro" said as "brah" haha! Ok! Ok! So, I've never actually been surfing but, I know what it's like and I did try getting on a board once, it sure takes practice. So if that's right up your alley, then grab your board, paddle out and wait for a nice wave to ride in on!

Maybe you'd rather boogie board! "What's that about?" you ask! Basically you get this little board and you run and jump on it, along the shore of the beach, where the waves crash. It's pretty cool and interesting. You can also ride in on the little waves too. There really isn't much else to say about it except that it's hit or miss until you get the hang of it. At least if you're surfing and fall off, you'll fall in the water and won't really get hurt, but with boogie boarding you bare the risk of falling on the sand and maybe hurting yourself, so just be careful! There are some Youtube videos down below that explain boogie boarding, if you're unfamiliar with it.

Speaking of dangerous, up next are the top dangers that are prevalent at the beach.

Things to definitely avoid and tips to help keep you safe....

It's a hot topic! Where do you stand? Should they be banned?

Are they annoying or have you not been bothered by them?

Should Frisbees & Footballs Be Banned From All Beaches?

When it comes to building sandcastles, you can either just wing it/improvise or you can even buy books detailing how to make the perfect sandcastle. Also, you can use the world wide web to get some ideas and know how, take for example, YouTube! There are plenty of videos to check out for Sandcastle building.......

The beach is all about fun, so why not bring some fun with you, as well.......

Surfing videos are entertaining to watch. They're so cool! Watching the waves crest, as a surfer tries to ride them without wiping out by their own fault - or in time, for the wave not to crash on them and take them out.

Amazon has you covered when it comes to everything beach related! Here are some surf boards and boogie boards to check out......

*That's me at the bottom of that picture, heading towards the ocean where my brother and some unknown girl are playing in the water.

There are definitely some dangers at the beach! Dangers that people aren't familiar with and one's that people are familiar with......

Watching Where You Walk! - There are a number of reason to watch where you walk. You should really wear sandals or some kind of protective footwear, unless you're going in the water. A lot of times, there are sharp shells on the beach, but the biggest problem with sharp things on the beach is that some times people will break beer bottles and there's glass hidden underneath the sand. You don't want to ruin your day at the beach by needing to visit the lifeguard station and not be able to go back in the water!

Also, a big thing back then, and it still might be today, is that some beaches have been known to wash up garbage and hazardous material. Like, with hypodermic needles being in the sand, I think I always heard about that being in California, but I'm not sure. It could just be an urban legend.

Another huge thing to avoid stepping on, and to be conscious of your surroundings, is jellyfish! Even if there is a dead one on shore and you think it's harmless, you never know! It could be alive still and not to mention, if you step on it, dead or alive, you can still be stung by it. That's not fun, if you ask some people who have been stung. Although, scientifically speaking, it is rarely deadly! There is also a widely known cure that if someone urinates on your wound it will help or heal it. That is actually false, according to scientists and doctors.

Here is an article about that: Can Urination Treat or Remedy A Jellyfish Sting?

Riptides/Undertow Current There's a current that flows along the bottom of the water. You know, the way the water crests and crashes at the shore and then gets sucked back into the ocean to send in another wave, over and over! Well, that current underneath the ocean, at the floor of it, has been known to grab people and take them under and pops them back out, way, way, way out in the water! Some people have been taken out extremely far and survived, but some don't survive holding their breath that long! That is one heck of a dangerous thing!

Sharks! - Yup, you know this one! Everyone knows this one! If the movie "JAWS" didn't make you worried about swimming in the ocean, then I don't know what will, lol It even made some people afraid to sit on the toilet bowl haha! So, you just never know if a shark is going to wander in and take a bite. It happens! There are plenty of shark bite stories/victims. I think they are probably going to happen more and more, seeing as how the Earth's environment and wildlife is being destroyed at an insanely expedited rate! They're getting hungry due to the lack of food! Unfortunately, and hopefully not, there will be a day when we won't have to worry about sharks biting us because they'll be extinct!

Oh and like I said before about if you get cut on your foot, by shells or glass, that you'd have to stay out of the water...sharks would be a prime example of why you wouldn't want to go back in while bleeding, because you'd get eaten! Yikes!

Sand Traps, Sand Holes!!! Here's a crazy one that not many people are familiar with! It's insane to think about too! Basically, you could be walking along the beach, in any area and then, the next thing you know, the ground gives way and you fall under the sand and you're trapped! What!?! Yup, it's a real thing! It's basically like a sinkhole, but in this case, no one will know where you went in unless they saw you fall under. Holy Smokes!

There's no way to avoid these, that's for sure! I can't help you with any tips on this one except to let you know that it happens. It is rare though, or just isn't reported as much. Some people have been saved though, when someone saw their friend or family member go down and acted quickly. There have been people who have done some sand digging and it collapsed on them, but that's different, and still dangerous too! I can't seem to find anything online about the people who just fell through the ground. Like I said, it's rare, but I have heard about it.

You just can't go wrong with "Kokomo" by The Beach Boys! Someone get me a pina colada!

Did you know that there are people who have never been to the beach, to see the ocean or go for a swim in it?

Which probably means that there are some people who will go their whole life never knowing what it's like and never getting to go. If you happen to be one of these people or even if you've been to the beach before, but haven't been to one in awhile, you should really go again.

I personally haven't been to the beach in about 15 years! I don't know if I'll ever make it there again! I did just recently move and our new house has a swimming pool!(I haven't been in a swimming pool in about 15 years too!) Dipping into a nice cool pool, on a hot Summer day, is the closest you can get, to actually being there.

So, whatever you're going to do, or where ever you're going to go, this Summer, I hope you have a great time and I hope you enjoyed reading about my family's adventures to the beach. Stay Safe!

Oh! and don't forget to bring the camera!!!

Here's a great video of an elephant seeing & swimming in the ocean for the first time...

My family & I went to Disney World when we lived in Florida and captured this cool picture of Tigger, from "Winnie The Pooh" surfing on a wave, with a squid on top and a fish next to him, jumping out of the water! We weren't able to get a closer shot because if you look on the right, where there's 2 people, in front of them is a rope. They roped off the whole area to the statue so people wouldn't go up to it and touch it or mess with it. So that area, directly in front of it(off-screen) was full of onlookers and there was absolutely no way to get to it through that madness! I think it still looks cool from this angle! Unfortunately, there aren't any pictures from a lot of our other traveling escapades, that's a long story, in and of itself! I do hope you enjoyed reading all of this and seeing the old pictures though! Please leave a comment if you stopped by........Thank you!

Spring just started in the northern hemisphere. Now's the time to start planning that trip you've been dreaming of. Maybe to the tropics or the beaches? maybe to Disneyland or Disneyworld? Maybe California, for Hollywood? Whatever & where ever the destination may be, here are 4 of the most popular sites to to check out for planning your new adventure, whether it's your first or your next great adventure!.......

#1. Travelocity

#2. Priceline

#3. Orbitz

#4. Expedia

Are you going anywhere special, for vacation, this Summer?

Do you have any cool or funny beach stories to share?

Please leave a comment if you stopped by......